Voda sees mobile ads as credit crunch resistant

Mobile carrier Vodafone said Wednesday that it has expanded its mobile advertising services to 18 markets and will continue to invest in the platform as a revenue driver going forward.

The company claims to have enjoyed strong revenue growth from mobile advertising, having run over 2,000 campaigns across its global footprint in the last year.

The Big V also said that it is seeing shifts in the market with many brands moving on from mobile banner campaigns and increasingly trying out branded content, sponsored alerts, opt-in push messaging and advertising on service-based text messages.

Some of the new strategies Vodafone is trying include zonal marketing, which allows opted-in customers to receive ads relevant to their profile and their realtime location, and full screen advertisements shown to opted-in customers during the moments before they answer a call or view a message. Customers are rewarded with points that they can redeem against goods or services; branded applications and widgets; and an ad enhanced mobile internet browser.  An online self-service platform is also available for small business to roll out their own mobile advertising campaigns.

Last month, a global survey of 4,000 mobile users across 19 countries by consultancy KPMG, found that 49 per cent of respondents would be willing to watch ads on their mobiles in return for free music. Furthermore, 44 per cent would be prepared to do the same in return for free access to Instant Messaging.

When respondents were asked about what mobile content and services they were prepared to pay for, music and navigation tools topped the list. According to KPMG, the UK leads Europe in purchasing music via mobile, with 34 per cent of respondents having undertaken this in the last 12 months.